By our entertainment editors
Oct 19, 2023 at 11:46 AM Update: 25 minutes ago
Martin Scorsese is already eighty years old, but still delivers Killers of the Flower Moon a 3.5 hour epic. The true book adaptation about the series of murders of the original inhabitants of Oklahoma impresses the critics, despite its long running time.
AD: 5 stars
“Anyone who is familiar with Scorsese’s oeuvre knows that his characters can chat endlessly. Killers of the Flower Moon is no exception. Perhaps that is why actress Lily Gladstone as Mollie makes the biggest impression. She makes her painful conflict maximally palpable with minimal words.”
“Just be aware: he will soon receive an Oscar nomination. Hopefully this also applies to Leonardo DiCaprio, who still seems to reach a higher acting level with the role. In his hands, Ernest becomes a reprehensible and pitiful figure.”
The story
The Osage tribe is driven out by settlers and finds a new home in northern Oklahoma. They discover that the ground is full of oil.
Ranch owner Bill Hale (Robert De Niro) is protector of the tribe and has their trust, but wants to take advantage of the rich land. Under his leadership, he ensures that his cowboys (including Ernest, played by DiCaprio) marry the Osage women.
Meanwhile, more and more deaths are occurring within the tribe – murdered by Bill’s ‘helpers’. Osage member Mollie, Ernest’s wife, doesn’t seem to realize who is behind the drama.
Loyalty: 4 stars
“With visually rich, stylized images, Scorsese builds a grim, imposing epic about the original sin on which the New World was built. With poor immigrants, prepared for shrewd violence. Workers soaked in oil.”
“Political coldness, mixed with paternalism and racism. And: a great fascination of the American public for crime stories, wrapped in the surprising epilogue, in which the maker himself briefly appears – a self-conscious nod to his own oeuvre.”
De Telegraaf: 4.5 stars
“The fact that Scorsese chooses the perspective of the cowboys is as original as it is genius. Only after two hours does the FBI come into the picture, which would have been the entry point for many makers. As a viewer, we have already gained a deeper insight into what kind of people are the cowboys and the Osage, and how they live their lives.”
“For example, the tensions between peoples are constantly palpable and good intentions from white fellow human beings in particular rarely seem sincere. In addition, everything is excellently depicted in sometimes almost poetic images that linger in your head long after the credits have rolled (image of silhouettes in a meadow surrounded by heat is fabulous).”
2:23Play button
Watch the trailer for Killers of the Flower Moon
de Volkskrant: 4 stars
“In Killers of the Flower Moon it mainly rages beneath the surface. Scorsese created a thoughtful yet breathtaking drama. We don’t have to guess for a moment about the perpetrators, but the tension remains constantly present, for all 206 minutes. That has everything to do with the shifted perspective.”
“Of all the ways in which the book could have been adapted for the screen, Scorsese chose the most compelling. He does not show the Osage murders as a reconstruction after the fact, safely from a distance, but shows the diabolical injustice as it happens – in full daylight, a toxic cocktail of greed, moral decay, racism, dangerous dependency and yes, love.”
2023-10-19 09:46:00
#Review #overview #Scorsese #Oscarworthy #original #perspective #Movies #Series
